By Kathleen McLean
Last Saturday evening I was invited to a dinner held by The Culinary Cannaseur Club. I didn’t know what to expect. I had received an email from the event planner letting me know the time, place and dress code. I will give you, the reader, fair warning. I do not claim to have a refined interest in food. I’m an ordinary mom that likes to eat when I’m hungry. I don’t attend pairings as an interest or hobby. And when I go wine tasting I drink the wine, as opposed to spitting it out and using coffee beans to clear my palate.
The dinner was a formal event that started with cocktails from 6-7:30 pm. Living in San Diego, I find “formal” functions can be challenging to navigate. The word formal at a beach city is confusing to me. I’ve attended formal events in the past and very rarely is everyone on the same page unless it’s a gala, then it’s fairly cut and dry.
I decided on a cute skirt, top, and heels and my husband wore a blazer with collared shirt. When we entered, I was happy to see we were in the middle. There were some people in full suits, and a few people came dressed casually… they stuck out.
Upon entering, we were greeted by a super hot waitress that guided us to our seats. I quickly set down my water as she handed me a glass of Merlot.
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The room was beautiful. The tables were elegant; the centerpieces were flowers perfectly placed on a stand in the middle of the table so everyone could see across the table. The whole room was white with white bulbs for romantic lighting. It was held on the third floor of a modern loft on the edge of the Gas Lamp district. The large windows were open, and there was a nice breeze coming through the venue.
Everyone was mingling and friendly. The waitstaff made sure all attendees had either red or white wine in their glass at all times. There was jazz music playing in the background, and everyone was sparking up.
Stoneroad Farms’ Cherry Pie Hybrid Pre-Roll.
Stoneroad Farms provided, what seemed like, unlimited prerolls. They were being served high on a silver platter. My favorite was the Cherry Pie Hybrid. While we all enjoyed smoking and sipping on wine, there was a magician working his way around the room for added entertainment. He was very entertaining. Everyone was enjoying themselves, and the vibe was super chill.
Around 7:30 pm we were instructed to take our seats to enjoy the 7-course wine, weed, and plate pairings. The wait staff continued to walk around, filling wine and offering teaspoon-sized servings of THC infused oil to be added upon request to any of the food.
The first course was a shooter of spicy gazpacho. It was the best gazpacho I have ever had. I had wished it was served as a more substantial portion in a bowl with a spoon because a shot was not enough.
The next course was an arugula salad sprinkled with feta cheese, candied walnuts, pomegranate seeds, and a vinaigrette dressing. This particular plate is supposed to cleanse your palate for the upcoming courses. There wasn’t enough dressing. I understand foodies will think I’m crazy but, I think arugula salad can be bitter, and there was at most one teaspoon of dressing served if there was even that much.
At this point, I’m hungry. It’s about 8:30 pm, I had been drinking for 2 hours and had smoked at least three joints and a blunt. To say I was looking forward to the main course is an understatement.
The following course was a seasonal tuna crudo. I can’t say much about it because I don’t eat seafood, but this course was also minuscule. It consisted of three quarter sized shavings of raw tuna on top of three pieces of spring salad and one slice of cucumber. People said it was good.
The course that came next was what I had been waiting for… or so I thought. It was handmade tortellini stuffed with tender braised beef and coasted corn. The plate was yummy! The braised beef was tender, and the tortellini was fantastic. It came with five tiny tortellini, the size of medium jelly beans. I realized this could not be considered a main course.
At this point, I have continued to smoke more of the complimentary Stoneroad Farms joints and have had a steady flow of different wines with each course. I’m still hungry. I was thrilled to see pork saltimbocca coming up next. Pork tenderloin medallions layered with prosciutto, smoked gouda, and a brown butter sauce. This plate was my favorite! It was hands down the best pork plate I have ever eaten in my life. Perfectly prepared with an amazing sauce. I loved it. The pork medallions were small- like Chips A’hoy cookie small. There were two.
Now comes dessert. I’m a fan of dessert so this was the part of the meal I was looking forward to the most. The first dessert was a plate consisting of cheese shavings, a single large strawberry, three figs, three walnuts, and a small piece of chocolate. I enjoy everything on the plate apart or together, but this is not what I had in mind for dessert. It was thrown together on a plate with a small purple flower next to the walnuts. I was least impressed with this dish.
The finale was vanilla pannacotta with fresh seasonal berries. It consisted of three squares of soft cheese with berries, mango purée, and mint crystals. It was a pleasant surprise. It tasted like cheesecake.
The meal was good; small in size but exceptionally well cooked and served.
I’m not 100% sure how this club works. I was never told the price for future dinners or even if the upcoming events are exclusive to club members. I would consider paying $250 per couple to participate in the next event. It was a tasting, so, although tasty, there weren’t enough carbs and everyone at our table was hungry. All of us were chatting about where we were going to dinner when this event ended.
Calivolve luxury Matcha truffles.
The vibe, people, unlimited weed, and wine made it all worth it. The atmosphere was so laid back! They played the best 90’s music in the background as we ate and the magician came out for a final act. We left with classy gift bags filled with more Stoneroad Farms prerolls and Calivolve Matcha Truffles containing 10mg of THC. The whole night was fun and completely unexpected.
